Lifestyle Lift Shelf Life

In some types of plastic surgery, the length of result is very difficult to quantify. Surgeries, like rhinoplasty and facial implants that change or replace hard structures (cartilage, bone, or implant) provide results that tend to be permanent. Surgeries that remove fat, such as liposuction and lower eyelid blepharoplasty, tend to also provide longer lasting results in the absence of significant weight gain. However, many other surgeries - such as brow lifts, face lifts, and midface lifts - that work by soft tissue repositioning and elevation of skin tend to produce results that are only semi-permanent.

What do I mean by semipermanent? The effect of the surgery on your skin and soft tissue never goes away. The simplest example is a facelift. Tthe skin that is removed doesn't grow back. However, the same processes that created the need for a facelift -gravity, sun damage, loss of skin elasticity and thinning of the fat layer below the skin- continue to effect your face long after successful surgery. As I tell my patients:

"The Hands of Father Time Continue to March On." 

So, if you were 55 years old and your facelift ten years ago made you look 45 , today you would look 55 again and you might want a revision facelift. This is not a loss of the original result, but rather the continuing and ongoing process of aging on top of that result. The facelift didn't go away. Remember that, If you never had it done, today you would look 65!

Lifestyle lift is the simplest form of a facelift. It is a very limited procedure where skin only is removed under local anesthesia. In the appropriately selected patient (usually a young one) this can produce a nice result. However, in the not so appropriately selected patient with more complicated age related problems, there can be significant scarring due to over pulling of the skin.

Try to be dispassionate about your decision to have this procedure. Consult a local board certifited Facial Plastic or General Plastic Surgeon to get an alternate opinion and an idea of pricing. Look in the mirror and try to honestly assess the severity of your problem. If your problems are minor, then you must decide if the cost is warranted. If your problems are more significant, then you should strive to obtain the most comprehensive procedure and wait until you are comfortable with the cost.

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Hello in Florida,

Very good answers to your question here.

I would also add that before you commit to any Facelift procedure you speak with former patients who have had it to learn from their experiences and get a sense of their overall satisfaction.

While it may be helpful to speak with Patients who are less than 6 months out from their procedure you will most likely not get an accurate idea of how long the procedure lasts.

It is best to speak with Patients who are at least 1 year out from their procedure since they will have results that are more reflective of what to expect in the long run.

The Lifestyle Lift was designed as a SMAS plication procedure (the SMAS/muscle layer is folded onto itself and sutured).  There has been much debate over the years among world class Surgeons as to whether or not SMAS plication can bring about long lasting results.  They have all agreed that it is very important to pick patients properly for SMAS plication procedures so that they have long lasting and worthwhile results.  If a patient does not have the correct anatomy or goals that a SMAS plication is appropriate for they will most likely be dissapointed with results that weren't satisfying or didn't last very long (typically less than 1 year). Please note that at Lifestyle Lift the only procedure offered is a SMAS plication procedure whereas in other practices you may be offered a wider variety of Facelift options.

Ultimately the best way to answer your questions is to speak with your Surgeon's patients who have similar anatomy to you and have had the procedure you are interested in at least 1 year ago.

Take care

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